A tall, pink lady is visible from the Nevada ghost town of Rhyolite. Known as the Venus of Nevada, this 1992 work by Hugo Heyrman is part of the Goldwell Open Air Museum.
The first time we drove into Rhyolite, I noticed a tall, naked lady with blond hair next door to the town. And no, I hadn’t consumed any peyote or other hallucinogenic drugs normally found in deserts and used by shamans to enter places that might be inhabited by tall, naked, pink ladies. I was gazing down at the Goldwell Open Air Museum, a truly unique art museum in the world of art museums.
Goldwell was started in 1984 by the Dutch artist Albert Szukalski as a way to display ghostly figures he created by wrapping live models in wet plaster. Soon, other Dutch artists joined him in his efforts to create a sculpture museum in the desert. Today, a Nevada non-profit organization cares for the museum and supports on-site artistic endeavors.
I’ve blogged about the museum before and I will undoubtedly blog about it again. Why? I’ll let the photos tell the story.
Albert Szukalski’s work, The Last Supper, was the first sculpture created for the Goldwell Open Air Museum. The mountains and clouds provide a dramatic backdrop for the sculpture.
Using Davinci’s fresco of the Last Supper as a model, Szukalski wanted a desert setting for his sculpture. Here, the ghostly figures are seen from behind.
Lady Desert, the Venus of Nevada, is located behind the Last Supper. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson.)
Hugo Heyrman used cinder blocks in his creation of the Venus of Nevada to represent the pixellated, technological world we live in. I found this perspective interesting. Peggy just shook her head.
A local resident of the nearby town of Beatty donated his bike and his body for this sculpture by Albert Szukalski. He served as the model by allowing wet, plaster infused burlap to be draped over his body.The sculpture is appropriately named Ghost Rider.
Every lonely desert prospector needs a penguin for company, right? Wait, isn’t that a donkey? The artist Fred Bervoets decided on a penguin for his tribute to Shorty Harris at the Goldwell Open Air Museum. Shorty was a legendary prospector who worked the Rhyolite area.
This couch by Sofie Siegmann is titled “Sit Here.”
So Peggy did. The buildings in the background are located in the ghost town of Rhyolite.
The back of the couch featured this face. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson.)
Dre Peeters named his hand carved statue Icara, a female equivalent of Icarus, the legendary Greek boy who flew too close to the sun.
An old wagon was located at the base of the Icara, so naturally I had to take a photo of its wheel. It makes a fitting end for this blog about an art museum located next to a ghost town.
NEXT BLOG: Off to the well know California ghost town of Bodie.
Wandering through Time and Place 
Those are cool-even the brick lady!
Thanks Wayne. That they are. –Curt
The Ghost Rider’s my favorite. As for the pink lady, my first thought was of sugar cubes, not pixels. I’m more firmly grounded in the analog age than I realized.
The best photo may be the one showing the pink lady lurking behind the Last Supper. That’s a great perspective, and amusing in a way I can’t quite articulate. I like the wagon wheel, too.
Bodie may be a well-known California ghost town, but I’ve never heard of it. I’m looking forward to the introduction.
You’ve never heard of Bodie, Linda? You just have to get out and about more. LOL Maybe Bodie is only known to people who like ghost towns and frequently drive up and down California’s Highway 395. (grin) 395, BTW, gets my vote as being one of America’s most scenic highways. I really like Ghost Rider as well. –Curt
Those plaster sculptures are something else. All those eerie spaces-for-bodies lined up along that board walk.
Definitely a feeling of other-worldliness, especially given the backdrop. The artist had a true vision. –Curt
Vision. Definitely. That’s exactly the right word.
Talk about creativity and uniqueness..This place is wonderful.. I love the “Ghost rider” and sofa.. Great shots, Curt!!
Thanks Lynne. Peggy and I make a point of stopping off whenever we are in the neighborhood. The Ghost Rider seems to be the favorite among the folks commenting. –Curt
Another desert treasure. Also looks like everything is made well enough to hold up to the desert.
It has for quite a while. A few pieces (not there anymore) were done in by windstorms. It is definitely a desert treasure, made even more so by being so unexpected. –Curt
Oh I do love the draped plaster sculptures.
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They are truly unique Alison. And I really like how he used the local folks to serve as his models, draping wet plaster burlap over them. –Curt
This is a really cool post. I’ve never been there but I’m intrigued. Love the funky art and the Ghost Rider, a little spooky, is my favorite. Looking forward to Bodie!
Wouldn’t like to meet the Ghost Rider on a bicycle trip. 🙂 And thanks. The Goldwell Museum is definitely worth a stop off. Thanks Evelyne. –Curt
This is wonderful, whimsical art Curt, and the real beauty is the contrast of the art to the desert. My favorite is the couch, but the plaster ghosts are so cool, I’m surprised I haven’t seen it before. ~James
Very cool. The sofa reminds me of the benches in Park Guell in Barcelona.
My wife grew up in southern California and she and her family often visited ghost towns on their vacations. I visited Bodie with her a long time ago. Looking forward to seeing it again.
Wonderful. Not sure about the sugar cube figure but the rest are very creative and seem to have stood the test of time well.
I love sculptures! The fact that these are surviving in this environment is amazing. I love to go back to just see if they survived!!! Peggy
O Wow! Chk out those ghost figures..and that couch! You guys are something.
They are very creative artists, D. It is a fun site to visit. I consider it three-in-one since I get to visit Rhyolite, the Goldwell Museum and Death Valley in one trip. –Curt
What’s up everybody, here every person is sharing these kinds of experience, thus it’s good to read this
weblog, and I used to pay a quick visit this website all the time.
The penguin was used because you’re about as likely to find gold in the desert as you are to find a penguin
Thanks for the insight, Josiane. 🙂 –Curt